Never Forget: “Angels” Honors the Victims of September 11
September 11, 2001. The day that changed America forever.
At 8:46 a.m., the world watched in shock as American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. Just 17 minutes later, at 9:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower. Millions of us sat frozen before our televisions, unable to comprehend the magnitude of what was happening. By 9:59 a.m., the South Tower collapsed. At 10:28 a.m., the North Tower fell. Nearly 3,000 innocent people were killed—office workers, firefighters, police officers, airline passengers, and bystanders—making it the deadliest terrorist attack in history.
The nation was wounded, but it was also united. “We will never forget” became more than a phrase—it became a promise.
My Memory of That Morning
On that morning of 9-11, I was waking up at Chicano Artworks, where I was living at the time. Like everyone else, I turned on the television to try to make sense of the news. What I saw left me stunned.
The anchors were reporting confusion—some thought it was an accident. But then, live on air, the second plane slammed into the South Tower. That was the moment we all knew: this was no accident. America was under attack.
I sat for hours, glued to the screen. I watched people trapped in the towers wave desperately from windows. I watched men and women, with no other choice, leap from 90 stories high. The images were beyond comprehension. It was horror in real time, and it has never left me.
That day stripped away the illusion of safety. It was a day that showed the evil of mankind in its rawest form. But it was also a day that showed the courage and sacrifice of ordinary heroes—firefighters climbing stairs into burning towers, police officers guiding civilians to safety, passengers on Flight 93 storming the cockpit to save countless others.
Turning Pain Into Music
In the days and weeks that followed, I searched for a way to process what I had witnessed. As an artist, the only way I could fully release what I was feeling was through music.
That’s how the song “Angels (A 9-11 Memorial)” was born. Written in 2003 and released under my name, Capone De Leon, also tied to my collective God’s Untouchables / Untouchable Underground Records, this track became my offering—a prayer in song for the souls we lost, for the families left behind, and for a nation still grieving.
The lyrics call upon the presence of heaven:
“Angels whisper softly,
With a breath that they …”
It is both unfinished and eternal—just like the lives cut short that day. The song is a reminder that even in the face of terror, we are not abandoned. Heaven was watching, grieving with us, and sending angels to comfort us.
Why This Song Matters Today
Every September 11th, we pause to remember. But remembrance cannot just be about looking back—it must be about carrying forward the lessons and the hope.
The song “Angels” is more than a memorial—it is an act of resistance against forgetting. It is a declaration that art has power to heal wounds that history cannot close. It is a reminder that music can carry prayers where words fail.
On this anniversary, I release it again with fresh urgency. For the families who lost fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, and children. For the first responders who gave their lives. For everyone who remembers exactly where they were that morning.
We will never forget. And through this song, we continue to remember.
Final Word
Twenty-four years later, the pain of September 11th still lingers. But so does the faith, the courage, and the resilience of the American people.
May this song bring you peace as you reflect. May it comfort you in remembrance. And may it keep alive the promise that we will never forget.
